Tangible Illusions
by Oregonblondie
Summary: Helo has his own Illusions. Parts set premini, and during episodes. HeloSharon, Please read and review, as I love feeback and am just returning to fan fiction after a long hiatus. I love to hear what people think.
1. Part 1 Pre Mini

**Title:** Tangible Illusions  
**Author:** **oregonblondie**  
**Author's Contact Info:** or warmrainicons Livejournal.  
**Rating:** PG  
**Word Count:** 695  
**Genre:** alternate universe, angst  
**Pairings:** Helo/Boomer, could maybe be a mention of Boomer/Cheif if you squint and tilt your head to the side.  
**Summary:** Helo has his own Illusions.  
**Author's Note:** This is set right before the Cylon attack and Galactica's decommissoning. Just my imagination wondering what it would be like if Helo went a little Gaius-crazy and started seeing an invisible Boomer.

And anyone who can tell me the signifigance of Sharon's dress colors gets a cookie.

xoxoxo

He could remember the first night she came to him. She was so beautiful, so perfect that he knew it was a dream. She was in love with the Chief, she couldn't possibly be in his rack, touching him, running her cold, thin hands up and down his chest.

He could still feel the light fabric of her dress as it ran across his skin. She was dressed in white, like an angel sent from the gods. He knew in his heart that she wasn't real. He knew, and yet everything that screamed in his head couldn't stop him from taking her in his arms. That first night the simply slept, his head resting on top of hers, a simple, perfect moment.

In the morning she was gone, cold air in the place of her warm, lithe body. He never told anyone. People would think he was crazy if he mentioned that he had spent the night with his Raptor pilot. But however implausible it was, to him it was real.

The next time he was asleep when she came. She was wearing the same white dress that hung and fell around her so perfectly, like a glowing aura. She just stood staring at him, sometimes lightly running her fingers over his face, drawing her thumb over his lips. When he finally woke and registered who was touching him, he gave a smile and parted his lips to say something. She rested her hand on his mouth to stop his words. She slowly bent, the dress showing the defined collarbone he never saw because of the flight-suit he always saw her in. Her bare skin was breathtaking, better than he would have ever imagined. Simply bending at the waist, she moved her face close to his, and barely brushed her lips against his. He closed his eyes and trued to press this moment into his mind, make it a moment that he would never forget, and when he opened his eyes again, his angel was gone, replaced by the dark room.

Then she came to him while he was reading. The rest of the rack was empty, the other people indulging in a card game or preparing for Galactica's decommissioning. The yellow light by his head made her skin shine gold as she climbed onto his bed and mimicked his posture, legs crossed Indian-style.

A smile crept across her lips and she spoke the first words he could remember her saying to him. Their past and present relationship was gone, the reality of his unrequited pining lost. "We are the future."

He wanted to question her, ask her to elaborate but found that he couldn't speak. Her smile winded and she spoke again as she took both his hands into hers, "It will all make sense soon. Just have faith. God has a plan for us. Have Faith." She reached out and pressed her palm flat against his forehead. Her hand felt dry, but water seemed to drip from it and down his face. For a split second the smile faded and she looked blank, eyes glassy and vacant. Then she slowly climbed from his bed and drifted past Fuzzy as he drunkenly stumbled into the rack.

She showed up the next night while he was asleep. This time was different though. Instead of the gauzy white gown he usually saw her in, she wore a silky green dress. It caught every light in the rack and spread it like a prism. She picked up his hand and pressed it flat onto her abdomen.

"We are Adam and Eve. We will be the ones to save the universe when all falls apart. Our love will last forever and be present in every moment from now until forever."

Her words were quiet, so quiet he had to strain to hear them. His girl spoke of them as saviors and birds, that the moments they would share would echo through time and space. Every word was like another note of music to him.

"The Rapture is coming and God will only save the worthy," She pressed his hand harder against her abdomen.

"Have Faith. We. Are. Coming"

xoxoxo

So tell me what you think of it. I would love to hear any feedback since this is my first BSG writing and I'm kind of a newbie to the fandom. You've obviously read it, so please just tell me what you think.

And if you liked this, look out for the next part. I've decided to write at least 3 more parts taking place throughout seasons 1 & 2.


	2. Part 2 You Can't Go Home Again

**Title:** Tangible Illusions (2?)

**Author:** oregonblondie

**Contact Info:** PG

**Characters/Pairing:** Caprica!Sharon, Helo, Boomer (see summary)

**Summary:** Takes place through You Can't Go Home Again. In the same vein as the first part but set directly in the episodes. I would recommend watching the episodes either before or after reading this because it makes much more sense (as well as flows better) if you can imagine these events taking place in the same time frame as the events in the episode.

And just for clarification, I've decided to call the invisible EightEight and Caprica!Eight Sharon.

xoxoxo

Helo sat in the bunker, twiddling the knob of the radio they had found. Everything was static and he sighed, letting his eyes stray to where Sharon was sprawled out asleep on the hammock. He could feel hot breath against his ear and turned to see another Sharon, dressed in gorgeous emerald and hair curled soft.

"She's beautiful isn't she," she breathed.

Helo nodded and was about to respond when the sleeping woman in front of him stirred and awoke. He shifted his eyes away from her and to the radio asEight walked away from him and over to the walls of the shelter.

"Anything?" she asked, voice heavily coated with sleep.

He shook his head, "No. I don't think anyone's left out there."

"All alone," commented Eight. Her voice was layered, somewhere between light-hearted sing song and ethereal tones.

"There must be somewhere. We can't be the only two people left in the world," Sharon said asEight let out a small laugh and shook her head.

"Well, good news is my leg's much better. And we've got anti-radiation meds to last three months. I say we load up as much food as we can and"

"…move out." She finished. "Try to find a transport or something we can fly off Caprica. Unless you can find a reason to stay."

AgainEight moved close to Helo, each word hitting him with tremendous force. "Ah, Helo. The question. Do you tell her you'd like nothing better than to stay holed up, safe and alone with your true love?"

"I'm not really looking forward to going back out there. I've almost started to think of this place as..."

"Home," each one of them said, Sharon and Helo in agreement with each other,Eight with a sense of scorn toward her visible copy.

"Enjoy it while you can,"Eight sniveled before drifting up the stairs and out of the bunker.

Sharon started to rise up off the hammock, but Helo touched her shoulders, "No, sleep a little longer. Who knows when we'll find clean sheets again." His eyes turned to whereEight had just left. "I'm gonna go topside and make some breakfast." Sharon smiled gratefully and fell back onto the hammock, thankful for even a minute's more rest.

Helo made his way around the kitchen withEight sitting on the countertop, watching him thoughtfully.

"You really do love her don't you?" she finally said, head tilted.

He was slient for antoher second, pulling bread out of the package before nodding, "Yeah, I guess I do. I don't know what would've happened to me if she hadn't come when she did." he finished the thought by slipping the bread into the toaster and pulling the lever to start it.

Abruptly, the sound of glass breaking could be heard coming from outside the restaurant.Eight slid down from the counter and started heading for the exit as Helo grabbed his side arm.

"I guess you'll find out," he barely heard her say as the metallic sound of Centurions filled his mind.

xxxx

Helo woke slowly, head pounding, every muscle in his body sore. His eyes drew over the debris of the half-destroyed resteraunt, no machine or human in visible range.

"Sharon! Sharon, where are you," he yelled. "Damn it Sharon, where are you?" For a brief moment he thought he saw a flash of green in the reflection of an appliance, but when he turned everything was deathly still.

He limped out to the street and looked around, turning in every direction.

"Sharon! Sharon...!" But all he could hear was his own voice echoing back to him, taunting his misery and confusion.

"Boomer? Where are you?"

xoxo

Next part will take place during Litmus. I was going to join this along with Litmus and Six Degrees but I have issues right now with writing anything very long. So let me know what you think of this and stay tuned for part 3.


	3. Part 3 Litmus

**Title:** Tangible Illusions (2?)

**Author:** oregonblondie

**Contact Info:** PG

**Characters/Pairing:** Caprica!Sharon/Helo, Eight (see summary)

**Summary:** Helo has his own Sharon.

xoxo

Helo sat on the hard concrete rubble, watching a rat struggle along. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered how a rat could have survived so long on this post-nuclear world, but any thought he had managed to have in the past few hours was soon abandoned. The wear on his body and mind was taking its toll, especially without Sharon to take him away from it. Either one of them.

After the first few encounters with his Sharon, he had become accustomed to seeing her. She was with him almost every night on Galactica, satisfying his need and keeping him from pursuing the woman he rode with nearly every day. As long as he could spend his nights in paradise, he could endure the days in hell.

Then the world ended, and he sacrificed any future life on Galactica for one on the run. He sometimes saw her, sometimes heard her voice, but he could never spend too much time dwelling on it. There was always another Cylon, always another enemy and never a moment to rest.

When the blond woman kissed him and then was shot by Boomer, he was sure he was going crazy. He silently wondered if maybe his fantasy had come to life, but it only took a day to fall into the rhythm of being on the run again, only this time, with someone to protect, to live for. A few days of being with Sharon, his specter returned, always in slinky green silk, always asking him the questions it hurt to say. She had guided them towards the bunker, but hadn't appeared since the surprise attack when Boomer was taken. Without the adrenaline of the hunt constantly pounding in his ears and no Sharon to talk his ear off, the silence of his mind's absent guest was near deafening.

All through the day he kept expecting her to show up or to make her presence known. He passed the empty time weighing his options, figuring some sort of plan. He could head south, try to stay a step ahead of his enemies and find a way home on his own, without Sharon. He knew the other option was to go north, toward the center of Caprica City, where his partner would be if she were still alive. He would only move once it was dark, one way or the other.

xoxo

The Caprican sun was lowering in the sky, casting shadows on the surrounding building and structures. Helo knew he needed to start moving, even if he still wasn't sure which direction. His head told him to run, that maybe there was never a Sharon that came back from him. He reflected on the fact that maybe the radiation had a stronger effect than he first realized, that his mind had simply created yet another Boomer. But there was still that overwhelming notion that she was real, that even if he had been crazy enough to have one of his own, he could have never crated two Sharons. And the fact that every moment since she'd rescued him had been slightly more real.

All of this pounded in him as he silently climbed down from the alcove he'd been hiding in. The thoughts were still bouncing around in his head by the time he'd made it to the empty street. If he had any hope Boomer was still alive, he was sure he would walk with the sun on his left. Still, on a Cylon occupied world post nuclear attack, what chance was there?

Helo started slowly heading towards the south, the remnants of sunlight falling across his body, causing elongated shadows to fall across the cracked pavement. He only limped a few steps before he noticed a second shadow next to his. He stopped and turned to see his Boomer in green, a frown on her face and tan arms crossed over her chest.

"You're really going to leave us? After everything, after I saved you, you're just going to give up? I guess you really are a coward. There really is no question to why I picked the Chief over you. He was brave enough to let me know he wanted me. He would save me." She spat all of this at him in a single breath and he wasn't sure it was possible for her voice to carry more disgust and loathing than it did. At this point he stopped, casting one look at Boomer and another over his shoulder. He forgot how long he had waited for her to show up and focused solely on her words. Maybe she was right, maybe he had been a coward, but if any time was right for him to prove himself to Sharon, it was now.

He turned around, pulled his side arm and began to limp towards his love. If he had looked back over his shoulder again, he would have seen her, his Sharon standing still on the street. The last beams of sun were still slipping away to leave her in shadow, the smile that had appeared on her face only barely visible in the swiftly fading light.

xoxo

The pigeons flew past, them too barely casting faint shadows, falling erratically around. Helo made his way into an abandoned building, so similar to every other building around it. The metallic clanking noises can be heard in the distance, and they add to the dangerous mystique of the situation. He had one objective, to get Sharon and get out. He drew his arms back and forth, pistol always leading, searching for any sign of life. After about 10 minutes of searching, he passes over a hole in the concrete floor that looks down onto a lower level and sees a Cylon Centurion marching along, a dragging a captive behind it.

Helo breathed, not believing his luck It had to be Sharon, her small frame recognizable in the flight suit even with a burlap sack obscuring the view of her face. He waited a few minutes, crouched next to the hole before dropping down and landing as softly as someone of his size could. Regaining his composure and sidearm, he scanned the level searching for the machine. He was about to lose hope that he would catch up to them when he turned around. In front of him was a sickening sight, enough to make anyone's blood run cold, even a man who'd fought them up close for more than two weeks. The Cylon swung its metal arm out, connecting with him and sending his gun skittering along the cement floor, just out of arms reach. His mechanical enemy began transforming one metal arm into a gun as Helo tried to scoot over to where his only hope lay. He used a burst of strength to grasp the gun and pulled off two quick shots, no hesitation.

There was a horrible shriek and Helo opened his eyes to see the machine fall towards him, metal face half melted and scanning red eyes moving back and forth once. He rolled out of the way just quickly enough to keep from being crushed, but its arm still fell heavily onto him, momentarily pinning him to the floor. He rolled to the side and the metal arm dropped to the ground.

His breathing retunring to normal, it only took a few seconds to locate Sharon. Her hands and feet were bound tightly with rope and he could see a few fresh smudges of blood on her suit. He sits her up and pulls the bag off her head. Sharon sobs at seeing him and he can't help but smile. "Shh," he says, trying to comfort her. "It's okay." He quickly does to work untying her bonds and kisses her on the face a couple of times.

She sobs, visibly relived he is who he is, and not another Toaster keeping her hostage. "Helo…" she chokes, "how did you know I was here?"

"Shh, it's okay," he says as he finishes untying the ropes. "Okay, can you, can you walk?"

She fives a week nod as he helps her stand up, "I think so."

Helo chuckles lightly, "Come on. Okay, I think were even now." He swings one of her arms around his shoulders to help her move.

"I think we should go," she says with a cautious voice, looking over her shoulder and back into the building.

He is so glad she is back with him he just blindly agrees, even though she's right, "Come on." The urge to comfort her is so strong, he can't stop talking. "It's going to be alright. You're gonna be just fine."

They limp out together, back onto the street. Most of the time he keeps his eyes on the Sharon on his arm, but every time he glances up, he sees the woman in green, ever present, ever radiant and still haunting him


End file.
